fall comes knocking

it is the dreariest of days here . . a chill rain is pouring down and it’s dark.
but in a way, i love that—it’s a great day to knit since we can’t ride bikes or garden. actually there IS stuff to pick out there but it’s going to have to wait til the rain lets up a bit.

the sad part is that this weekend was a true harbinger of fall’s inevitable arrival. yesterday was beautifully clear, cool, and smelled of drying leaves a bit. evening came down surprisingly fast. someone on our street lit a fire, and well, that signaled it for sure. once you smell woodsmoke in crisp night air, you know that summer is waning.

i’ve spent the last few days working a lot more at the computer than i intended or want to be doing, but i’ve done some knitting too, mostly on the Big Secret Project. i am finally settling into a rhythm with it and i’m hoping it will all flow well from here. i still have a hump or two to get over before i can send anything to the test knitters, but i think i’ll be ready for that monday.

once again, wanda and ed came to my aid. i was using my addi lace needles for swatches and really struggling. the yarn for this project is an incredible luxury fiber blend, that is unbelievably slippery, especially at first—to the point of feeling unmanageable. it was unwieldy and driving me mad. i finally caved and emailed wanda to buy a pair in the size i needed.
“no problem, she said, ed will make them. but in the meantime, i happen to have a beta pair in just that size that i can mail today—ed’s made a few improvements and you may as well test them”.
(ed and wanda already have a special place in heaven, you know . . . they do not have to be this nice to me, but still, they do good things for people ALL the time. i want to be like them.)

so anyway, the needles arrive here less than 48 hours later.

they are just what i needed. the points are perfect for me—not quite as sharp as the other jenkins needles i have, but plenty tapered enough for very fine work. and they are longer now, which improves the weight and leverage. ed is testing a new beryl for the join and i like it a lot. it has absolutely no discernible edges to catch fibers.
i gave wanda the feedback she asked for, but these are certainly doing the trick for now. no more slippery-slide-y knitting.

(hehe. you thought you would get a glimpse of the BSP on the needles just now, huh? sorry—it’s under wraps and my lips are sealed. see?? i just can’t be as nice as them . . .)

now everyone knows how much i love kim’s merino/nylon sock blend—it’s super-smooth, soft, and buttery. so i was a little leery about the new yarn, which is lambswool and nylon.

but guess what? i love this one too.

it certainly is different from the other one . . it is spun looser and fuzzier (woolen style). you can see in the photo that the fibers are curlier. when it is knit up it makes a soft, light, and airy fabric with some tooth to it, although not scratchy at all. it’s fine, but it’s beefy. it is a texture i like quite a lot, because this kind of yarn makes cozy footwear, which i prefer at home in winter.

i SO wanted to cast on a sock, but let’s get real . . i have like five different ones on the needles now; i don’t really need to start another, even if it is one of david’s favorite colors and his birthday is in about six weeks (oh damn, i better get creative about a gift, like SOON).

an in other knitterly things, i caved and bought that pin i was lusting after from romi

it’s going to look excellent against some of the bronze-y blue and gold yarns i have here.

i have a couple of other cool things to show you and some mo’ knitting, but i’m goin to save them for tomorrow—i gotta go knit and put some tomatoes on.

29 Responses to “fall comes knocking”

I sure hope that some cool and drear is part of the package you’re sending my way. It is soooo hot and dry here — high summer in the deep south. I long for cool and crisp. We may get it along about, maybe, November?

I love Kim’s yarn, and this new one looks yummy. Her color sense just makes me shiver.

The older I get, the more I look forward to fall. The other day it was so chilly out that we opened all our windows and snuggled under blankets, drinking hot tea. It was cozy. Of course, it’s gotten hot again, but now I’m really looking forward to fall and heavy woollens.

Cool? It’s really cool here (Coastal Maine): 50’s!! I love it! Fall is my favorite time of year. It might have something to do with the yarns at that time of year. The sock yarn is very nice. The shawl pin/stick is beautiful.

Sounds like our weather here in Southwestern PA too. Skeins of Canada geese have been flying over all day. Isn’t it cool that they are called skeins? I think you should design a wrap based on skeins of geese, v-shapes in shades of gray like today’s sky. (Isn’t it nice of me to add to your to-do list as if you haven’t enough to get done as is?)

Oh, I love Vickie’s comment! It makes me happy to know that the geese are coming back. I’ve always loved watching them fly over our place in… skeins!?! How cool! (Yeah, I’m French-speaking, so I had no clue!) And her idea of a wrap design based on skeins of geese? I love it! I totally can see it. Maybe in the shape of a faroese shawl, so that even the shape of it evokes the V of their flying formation? You’ve got more than enough on your plate right now, so there’s no need to rush on that one: the geese will fly down and back up again next year!
Hmmm… I’m sorry, my comment is totally unrelated to your post here, but really, Vickie’s sparked something in my mind and I couldn’t refrain from telling!

I absolutely adore this time year. Summer is starting to wane….there is a difference in the sky and a difference in the songs that the birds sing. Even the geese in the pond across the street honk a different tune at night…….a bit lonely sounding but beautiful. I agree with Vickie. I think a pattern reflecting geese would be wonderful! I so miss their songs when they fly south for the winter.

We are still in the hot zone here. The trees here are loosing their leaves beacuse of lack of water. We haven’t had nearly the rain that we need. We water the flowers and garden, but it just isn’t the same.

I know what you mean about the weather lately….but today it’s terribly humid here, not hot just icky humid.
Those needles look like they just hum along as you knit, Ed and Wanda sound like good folks to me
That sock yarn looks wonderful, be good and resist it though. You don’t want a melt down LOL.

My 2 year old just had her b-day yesterday, and my middle son will be 9 Sept. 23. So not too far off from David’s b-day.

Thanks Anne! I’d like to put a word in for readers who may be patiently waiting as Ed works his way through a long list: During a slow period towards the end of July Ed started experimenting with this new style. He made three pairs before we were hit with a backlog of orders. Fortunately this one was eager to be tested, when need arose, hoping to find a home with Anne.

Several neighbors lit yard debris fires yesterday, and during the night rain came down hard for several hours. Today was a harbinger of the season to come.

As I am writing this the rain is starting to fall, it looks like we won’t see much of the sun today. It hasn’t been a hot summer over here at all this year. I don’t mind that much but I do miss the long warm summer evenings though.
You do make all of us very curious about the mystery project though 😉 At least I am !

Beautiful pin. And if anyone deserves it, you do, with all the lovely patterns you’ve been cranking out for us lately. I don’t recall if I have you to thank for pointing me to the Jenkins earlier or not but if so, my thanks. Their needles really are lovely.

Can I second the request for a Canada Goose based pattern without getting into trouble? ‘Cause I have a perfect yarn for one…

Those needles look heavenly! Any idea on when they’ll be available to the general public?

I love rain. I think it’s because we’ve so rarely gotten rainy days here that I’m truly appreciating the beauty of rain and overcast skies. (We’re experiencing a drought.) That kind of weather really do make for perfect knitting days.

It was wonderfully cool here this weekend, with bright blue skies–just heavenly, in fact! (Today, though, leaden skies.) I love this time of year, when the cool-off is just beginning… the gentle slope from Indian summer into apple cider days. Bring it on!

oh no… not fall YET ! We normally have a nice long warm September here, so fingers crossed.
Ed and Wanda are just about the most amazing duo, aren’t they? And I can tell you that they are even nicer in person! (hard to believe, yet honestly tru!) I hope to get to see them in about 4 more weeks.

Hi talented lady! Just wanted to pop in and tell you how envious I am that THIS is your job, you lucky thing!! I love the new look of the blog, and am probably VERY late to that conversation…but there it is.